Missing
by fallenangel8794
Summary: What happens when someone kidnaps the Guild Master? Do a band of thieves run to her aid, or kill the assassin who found her? Brynjolf/Dragonborn
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This mini-fic is a teaser of the main fic I am co-writing with lonewolf ( u/4684355/lonewolf352) and the entire thing will be posted soon on his profile. This is to drag all the wonderful people who follow me (and I love everyone who does, as well as those who take the time to read my work) over to the story since it won't be posted on my page. It's only fair since it was originally his idea. I believe that he has a teaser for his part up as well, if you want to read it. This is very much a cannon-type fic. And this note has gotten really long. So disclaimer: Bethesda owns the Elder Scrolls series and questlines and NPS and Skyrim. I'm just respectfully twisting it. So enjoy!**

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She stretched languidly and looked over her shoulder at Brynjolf, who smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around her waist. Korina leaned against him and sighed.

"Well, Guild Master, I think we should be heading back. They might start to wonder," he said into her hair.

She laughed and turned to slide her arms around his neck, "You mean they haven't already? Damn."

"Come now, lass."

She kissed him softly, "You go on. I have a few things I want to do before it gets too late."

"Trying to get rid of me? You'll have to do better than that," Brynjolf pulled her closer to illustrate his point.

"I guess if you really wanted to know what I was going to get you, I'll let you tag along." Korina sighed loudly and smirked, playing on his love of surprises to goad him into leaving without her.

Damn, she was good. "Getting me something, are you? What's the occasion?"

"Oh, nothing much," she trailed her fingers across his armored chest just hard enough that he could feel it through the leather.

"You know I'll find out sooner or later, lass."

"I'm counting on it. Now, shoo."

"Alright, alright. Don't be out too long. I can't wait up forever, you know."

"Because you really need more beauty rest," she lightly shoved him.

He pulled her close for one last kiss before making his way back to the Guild. Korina smiled after him. She had fallen hard for the Nord and wasn't afraid to admit it. Next week was the two year mark of when they had first met. That had been nowhere near romantic. In fact, they had left that encounter very nearly hating each other. It was more of an excuse to get him the enchanted glass dagger he'd had his eye on for a while. She pulled the hood of her armor back up and made her way to the blacksmith's shop for the unique purchase. Wrapping it carefully and stashing it in her boot, she threaded her way back through the late night crowd, intent on returning to the Guild, and more importantly Brynjolf, as quickly as possible. So when someone unfamiliar grabbed her from behind, she was more than a little annoyed. That one person turned into two and then three and she was quickly overwhelmed. One of them yanked her hood down in an attempt to hold her still and only succeeded in making her fight harder. No one touched her armor.

Fighting for all she was worth, she knew she was going to lose if she didn't do something. So she started to scream, "Guards, someone, help! They're-" a large hand covered her mouth and she bit it hard enough to draw blood, "HELP! Someone, get them off of me!" She landed a well-placed kick and one of them stumbled back. That gave her the leverage she needed to yank one of her arms free and lay into the other two holding her. By the time the guards came to her aid, she could have managed. But, she was grateful nonetheless. Not one to play the victim, even if she rightly was one, Korina beat feet away from the crowd and stopped in a small back street to catch her breath. Oh, Brynjolf is never going to let me out of his sight again. And who in the bloody hell tries to kidnap someone in public anyway? Amateurs.

"Oh, hello my dear."

Korina spun and drew her dagger to face whoever had spoken. "I'm really not in the mood."

"I don't need you in any kind of mood. Now come along."

She eyed the hooded figure warily. His cloak was black and reached the cobblestone path under their feet. All she could see of his face was his nose and mouth, which was twisted into a disdainful scowl. He screamed _evil _and she started backing away.

"Oh, none of that. Come now, quietly." He reached for her and before she could yell again, the world faded to black. "That's a good girl."

He hefted her slight form and disappeared into the shadows with no one aware that the Guild Master was now missing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Stand up. I said stand up!"

Korina blinked bleary eyes at the dim outline of a man standing over her. Her entire body felt like it was made of lead and she couldn't get enough of a handle on her tongue to tell the man to jump off a bridge. A foot connecting with her abdomen cleared her vision quite well and she managed to stagger to her feet.

"Get that armor off. Now."

"And if I say sod off?"

"Look, sweetheart. There are two ways its coming off. The hard way or the fun way," a dark haired man folded his arms over his broad chest and leered at her. He had an ugly looking scar running across his right cheek and jaw and a few broken teeth. He was in cheap leather armor with a sword dangling from his waist. Above his head, in the ceiling of the room, was what looked like a trapdoor. She assumed it was the only way out the room and it would only open from the other side when someone on this side did some stupid secret knock. The only furniture in the room was what passed for a bed on the floor in the corner. Clearly she was going to have to be creative to get out of here.

Korina sighed, "Why do I get the feeling neither is going to be very fun for me?"

"Smart girl."

She ran a hand across her Nightingale armor. She knew in her heart that she would remove it herself to keep it safe, if nothing else. Like hell she was going to let the likes of him touch it.

"I'll make you a deal."

He laughed roughly. "You're hardly in a place to be making deals."

"Is that so?" She fished a small satchel of gold from a hidden pocket and shook it, "All this is yours if you let me take my armor off and stow it."

His eyes lit up, "How much?"

She threw it at him, "Count it and see."

He greedily emptied the purse into his hands and started counting it. It had to be at least five hundred, she knew that much. She also didn't really care. If he knew how many hidden pockets this armor had, he would never agree to it until she shelled out much more. Truth be told, anything less than a few thousand didn't worry her at this point. Being an agent of Nocturnal certainly had advantages.

"You'll keep your mouth shut?"

"I will."

"Fine. Do it." He said shortly. He tossed her a box, which was clearly where she was supposed to put it.

Korina slowly began removing her armor and stowing it in the offered container. The man watched her, entranced in her movements. She was treating her armor with near religious respect and every move she made was sultry and smooth. When she had finished with her armor and was standing in nothing but her small clothes in front of him, he nodded and rapped on the trapdoor. It opened to reveal a piece of ceiling from the room above and more angry looking men with weapons drawn. When they saw their comrade, they lowered a ladder and he passed them her box of armor before ascending it. The door closed again and she was left alone.


	3. Chapter 3

He slid forward under the cover of darkness. This tower was well fortified and well-guarded; it would be a challenge to get to his target. He did like a challenge. Slipping past the patrolling mercenaries, he stole into a side door. Once inside, he bit back an exasperated sigh. There were more thugs here than he thought. This was turning into more of a challenge than he had anticipated. Still, it was worth it if one more bad person was gone from the world. Acius crept up the stairs, avoiding more wandering mercenaries. On the next floor up, he could hear the distinct sounds of a torture chamber. Dark Brotherhood or not, he detested torturing people. It was frankly disgusting and very, very wrong. One detour wouldn't kill him. He would be no better than those he vowed to eradicate if he left some poor soul to be mercilessly beaten. Drawing his poisoned dagger, he opened the door and slipped into the room. He didn't have time to act before a pair of hands closed around his neck and the room erupted in perturbed shouts. The last thing he saw was a familiar head of red hair on a body that was hanging limply from the wall before his line of sight was obscured by a group of large angry men and then everything winked out.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on, Bryn. You haven't been out of the Flagon in days. You need to get some fresh air." Delvin said, trying to push his friend off the bar stool.

"Leave me be."

"What's eatin' you? Is it because your girl is still gone?"

"Aye," the Nord sighed, "It's not like her to be gone so long without saying anything."

"So how will sitting on your ass down here fix it? If you're worried, go look for her."

"I don't even know where to start. She said she was going to pick something up and be right back."

"Could she be waiting for you some place special?"

"She would have said something, Delvin. It's really not like her to just run off."

Delvin huffed and shoved him harder off the stool so he either had to fall on his face or stand up. Brynjolf picked the latter and glared at the other man, who replied, "There now, was that so hard? I don't care if you want to sulk, just go sulk somewhere else for a while."

"Fine, fine. But your sorry ass is coming with me."

The pair made their way out of the sewers and into Riften. On the way to the Bee and Barb, Brynjolf stopped cold, causing his companion to stumble into him.

"What?" Delvin asked, more than a little annoyed.

"Shh."

The passing guards paid them no mind and kept up their conversation.

"I don't know. She was shouting one minute and gone the next. I really thought we got them all." One said.

"Are you sure?" The other answered.

"Everyone said there was only three, but in all the confusion…"

"Poor girl. Getting snatched is never a good thing around these parts."

Brynjolf narrowed his eyes at Delvin and they hustled to the inn. If anyone would know what was going on, it would be Keerava. They made straight for her and leaned heavily against the counter.

"Been gone a while. What's new 'round here?" Delvin asked politely.

"Everyone's talking about it. Some poor girl got taken right off the streets."

"When?" Brynjolf pressed.

"Oh two weeks ago, give or take. She fought hard by all accounts, but I guess there were just too many of them. Three of them are rotting in the jail now, but they won't talk. I heard they even got offered a deal to get out if they told the guards where she was, but they just spit on it."

"Did anyone see what she looked like?"

"No one's said anything besides that she was wearing some fancy black armor."

"With a cape?"

"That's it. Seems right impractical to me."

The two thieves turned and jogged out of the inn and back to the Guild. This was not good.


	5. Chapter 5

Acius awoke in the dim light of dawn, disoriented and sore. Pulling himself to his feet, he looked around to figure out exactly where he was. Not far from the run down keep he had been in hours before, it would seem. He tested his injuries and found a few broken ribs, a black eye and beat up knee. Grimacing, he started limping to Riften. Lucky for him that he was close to people he knew would be able to help not only him, but also the familiar red haired woman being tortured.

When he reached Goldenglow Estate, he rested. It had been many years since he had traveled with serious injuries and he was beginning to remember why he had taken to carrying a few healing potions with him. Pity they had been removed while he was unconscious. Knowing time was running out for the woman still locked in Faldar's Tooth, he forced himself to keep moving.


	6. Chapter 6

This was the sixth time they had drug Korina from her little room and strung her up by her wrists. What they did to her varied based on who was actually doing it and who was watching. And she was never without a crowd. How flattering. She grimaced and spit blood onto the floor. She made a promise to herself that no matter what they did to her, she would not break and she would never tell a soul. By the time they took a break this time, she was hovering on the edge of consciousness. It was harder to hold on every time, since they had 'forgotten' to offer her food, not that she would have taken it if they had. But then something odd happened. The door opened and the room erupted in a flurry of activity. Korina couldn't see beyond the wall of bodies but someone was forcibly removed from the room and she was left alone. This was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. Nocturnal had gifted her with the powers of invisibility and she used them to their fullest extent. When her captors returned, she was gone. They searched and searched, but they couldn't find her. They checked the restraints, finding them still locked. One of them had the brilliant idea to unlock them and she dropped soundlessly to the floor. She skated around the confused men and dashed out the door. Forgoing silence for speed, she ran as fast as she could. By the time her invisibility wore off, she was well outside of the keep. She stopped to catch her breath and ride out the dizzy spell her exertion had caused. Korina knew she would have to go back there and get her armor, but she could go back with a platoon of muscle-bound morons. Well, the Companions are looking for work…

"What are you doing running around in your smallclothes, girl?"

Korina jumped and spun around to face the speaker. "You."

"Me." The black-cloaked man said with a voice full of venom.

"Why? Why me?" She had a burning desire to understand why he had targeted her out of everyone in Skyrim. Aside from being the Guild Master, she wasn't anyone special. Certainly no one worthy of this, unless he knew more about her than he let on. Then…well, it complicated things.

"The day I share my motives with the likes of you will be the day the world burns." His hand shot out from the cloak and gripped the back of her neck. Before she could move to stop him, the world went black.


	7. Chapter 7

Back up on the wall in chains, Korina smirked. Whatever else the cloaked man was, he was pissed at his henchmen and a small part of her, minutely small to be sure, felt sorry for them. Whoever the man was, he smacked of something dark and sinister. When the door opened, she lifted her head and glared daggers at him. Speak of the devil.

"See if you ever try that again, girl." He touched her restraints, muttering under his breath. When he pulled away, he sneered and left. She narrowed her eyes at the door. This was not going to end well.

After some time, her captors reentered and continued what they were doing before they were interrupted. She held onto consciousness as long as she could, despite the pain, because she just wanted to defy them. Catching a glimpse of her battered body nearly made her gasp. She looked like hell, bloody, bruised and too thin. Korina had a sinking feeling that she was going to die strung up on this wall. When she finally slipped from waking world, her captors left her on the wall as they were instructed.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time he reached Riften, it was still in the twilight hours of the next morning and Acius could hardly stand without assistance. It irked him to no end that a five hour trip had taken him almost an entire day. It was well beyond bothersome. He dropped himself onto a bench to wait out the lightheadedness that was fogging his senses. It was then that he realized that he hadn't the faintest clue where the Thieves Guild was. He rested back against the railing and sighed heavily. He could always ask someone, but that would do little to endure him to the people here, and he rarely ever asked anyone for anything. He rarely _spoke_. But it would seem luck was on his side yet again as a blonde woman in the distinctive Guild armor passed him by. Lightening quick, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him.

"What the hell is your issue?" She spat.

"I know where she is." Acius said quietly.

Not missing a beat, she drew her blade and jabbed it into his already searing ribs, "You better start talking and fast."

"Not here."

She eyed the man warily. He was wearing Dark Brotherhood armor and that alone sent up enough red flags for her to seriously consider throwing him over the railing. The Guild occasionally did business with him and his kind, but she had no love for hired killers of any type. If he did know where the Guild Master was, she couldn't possibly drop him on his ass. So, she had to play along.

"Where, then?"

"The Guild."

"What's the catch?"

Ah, a smart one, it would seem. "I am in need of assistance."

She huffed in annoyance, "We're thieves. Not assassins."

"I'm aware. I meant getting there. I fear I cannot go on my own." Acius gestured to his tattered and blood smeared clothes.

"One wrong move and I'll run you through."

"Understood."

She offered him a hand up and slung his arm around her shoulders. It was a good thing he was a skinny guy, otherwise this would be a lot harder. She dragged him through the Ratways, avoiding the secret graveyard entrance. It was bad enough that she was bringing him down there; she wasn't about to reveal any secrets.

They stumbled into the Guild and she called, "Brynjolf, Delvin get over here!"

"What, Vex?" Delvin called back.

"Just hurry your ass up." She set Acius in a vacant chair and stood over him.

The two came sauntering over. Delvin raised an eyebrow. He had seen the man a few times for business, but they usually met in the Bee and Barb and it didn't explain why he was here now. Brynjolf drew his sword and leveled it at his chest.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed.

"He says he knows where our Guild Master is." Vex said, folding her arms.

"Talk and fast." Brynjolf said, the point of his sword never wavering. Acius nodded once deeply, acknowledging his chance to speak and the fact the Nord hadn't run him through on sight. The man had every right to, after what had happened the last time they met.

"Faldar's Tooth."

"How do you know?"

"I was there on unrelated business and saw her. We do not have much time. She's being tortured."

"We? What makes you think I'll let you anywhere near her?"

"I still have my own job to finish there."

"We'll get you patched up and leave in an hour," Delvin cut in.

Brynjolf scowled but sheathed his blade for the time being. While they tended to their guest, he paced around in tight lines. He should have gone looking for her sooner. If anything had happened to her…what was he saying? They knew she was being tortured. Plenty had already happened to her. All he could do now was run and hope he wasn't too late. He dropped himself roughly on the stone floor and let his legs hang over the cistern water. How could he have waited so long? The irrational part of his mind was blaming her nine ways to Sundas. The lass had a habit of running off for days before coming back with some rare treasure. She was a free spirit and followed the wind. When she said she would be back soon, it could have meant within the hour or the week. So how was he supposed to know she was in trouble? Because, he knew her. A day or two was normal. A week without word was odd and any longer was unheard of. She took her job as Guild Master seriously and was never one to shirk her duties, even if she did let him handle the books. Brynjolf let his head fall into his hands and rubbed his eyes with the pads of his fingers. This was a disaster. He supported his head with one hand while the other pulled a small case from a pocket on his cuirass. It held a simple gold band. With a heavy heart, he pulled the ring out and let it rest in the palm of his hand. It was small, made for the long, dexterous fingers of a certain missing red haired lass. Their relationship wasn't one that ever called for an Amulet of Mara, so he had skipped right to the wedding ring. He had been planning on taking her to the temple that week. If everything worked out, he'd still be able to go through with it. He didn't want to fathom the alternative.


	9. Chapter 9

When she woke again, she forcibly suppressed a groan. Korina cracked an eye open and looked around. She was still stuck to the wall. Wonderful. Today was by far the worst she had felt since ending up here. Whatever they were doing to her was starting to show, in more ways than one. She couldn't do anything with a sharp stab of pain erupting from somewhere on her body. Dropping her head against her chest, she allowed herself a small groan. She felt like death warmed over. The door creaked open and she picked her head up again. Four of them stomped in and stuck her feet in an icy barrel of water. She sucked in a breath, but didn't try to pull them out.

One man leaned in close to her and whispered, "I'm sorry."

He was the last to leave the room and Korina recognized him as the man she bribed to let her take care of her armor. She blinked at his back as he pulled the door closed. If anything happened to her armor, she would-

The telltale sign of her gift from Nocturnal returning was a light buzzing at the base of her skull and a slight rush of air. She could only use it once in a twenty four hour period, as per the agreement with the Daedra to prevent the Nightingales from abusing their gifts. The metal around her wrists started to grow hot and struggled against it. By the Nine what was going on? Purple lightening sparked from the metal and shot down her spin. Korina bit her lip until it bled and it still didn't stop. It took her breath away. She kicked the water barrel over and writhed against the wall. When she was able to draw in a shuddering breadth, a feral scream was torn from her throat and echoed off the stones.


	10. Chapter 10

An hour later, three thieves and an assassin were off and running. It wasn't a long trip by any means and along the way Acius explained what they should expect. It was decided that they would kill everyone in the place to ensure this wouldn't happen again. Not bothering with stealth, they ran in, weapons drawn and swinging. In certain situations, brute force was more useful than stealth. This happened to be one of those times and it suited Brynjolf just fine. He doubted he had the capacity to be sneaky with the way he was boiling over. There were few things a person could do to really piss him off and these people had managed to do two. They had taken his love and threatened his livelihood. With a yell, he beheaded one man and shoved his blade through another's gut. He turned to Delvin, who was wiping his blade on the armor of another fallen mercenary. Vex was scowling at Acius for something Brynjolf honestly cared nothing about. The only thing that mattered now was finding Korina.

An ear splitting, pained wail bounced off the walls and made Acius stop short. It was a distinctly feminine voice experiencing a pain that no mortal should ever have to and live. The thieves looked around alarmed, searching for the source. Acius closed his eyes and tried in vain to block out the sound. He despised torture of any kind, but it made his stomach knot uncomfortably to know that the tormented woman liked honeyed mead and hated when her lips were chapped. When the echoes finally ebbed away, Brynjolf looked sharply to the assassin with the unspoken question of _where is she _and the silent vow that if it was too late_ I will do what they did to her to you_ and Acius had to gather his wits before he spoke.

"Up the stairs, first door."

For a big man used to stealth, Brynjolf moved with surprising speed up the stairs. He was working the lock to the door before the other two could process what the assassin had said. With deft fingers, he picked the lock and nearly fell into the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Aaaaaannnnnnddddd that's the end of the teaser :) I will accept any punishment you care to give for leaving you hanging as long as you read the rest of it when we put it up. Yes, I am aware that I am a bit evil. But that's why you love me! Maybe. Now I'm just rambling to see how long you're going to keep reading. Lalala. Ok I'm bored. I'm going to go finish the rest of the story now. Bye! **

**And thank you so very much for reading! I love you all because you took the time to read this and put up with me. You're awesome :)**


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